Flier for spinning, twisting, winding, balling, or like machinery.



PATENTED FEB. 24, 1903.

. G. s. Moo'NNAN. y I'LIBII PoR SPINNING, TWISTING, WINNING, BALLING',0R LIKN MACHINERY APPLIoATIoN FILED 1120.11, 1900.

N0 MODEL.

THE Nonms PETERS ca. womuruo. WSNINGTQN, u. z;A

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

CHARLES STODART MCCONNAN, OF LIVERPOOL, ENGLAND.

FLIER FOR SPINNING, TWISTING,r WINDING, BALLING, OR LIKE MACHINERY.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 721,457, dated February24, 1903.

Application filed December 11, 1900. Serial No. 39,473. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, CHARLES STODART Mc- CONNAN, rope manufacturer, asubject of the King of Great Britain, residing at Liverpool, in thecounty of Lancaster, England, (whose post-office address is 305 EdgeLane, Liverpool, aforesaid,) have invented certain new and usefulImprovements in Fliers Applicable for Spinning, Twisting, Winding,Balling, or Like Machinery, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to iiiers applicable for use in operations suchas spinning, twisting, winding, and balling yarn or other material, andhas more especially for its object the attainment of a higher speed,together with a steadier motion, than is possible with iiiers of theusual construction.

I consider my invention most applicable and-with the greatest advantagein speed to spinning, twisting, or like operation of the heavier classesof yarn, such as in twine manufacture, and very applicable to thespinning and twisting of rope-yarns, harvesting-twine, and other similaroperations in cordage manufacture. In the accompanying drawings, Figure1 is an elevation, partly in axial section, of my flier for spinningrope-yarns. Fig. 2 is a transverse section of the dier at :r2 in Fig. 1,being substantially an end View of loose or'free extremity of the flier,showing one way of attaching the capstans; Fig. 3, adetail view showingmode of attachment of the guidesheave to the wire cord of the iiier.Fig. 4. is an axial section at line m4 in Fig. 2, showing the hollowspindle of the flier.

My present invention is exemplified by the ballooning action of thecotton thread, such as takes place in the ring and traveler system ofspinning, or by the centrifugal action of a yarn or thread spreadingitself outward by reason of the centrifugal force developed throughoutits length by reason of its own Weight. Further, the invention isexemplified by the centrifugal action of a childs skipping-rope, in'which lby rotating or driving one end and allowing the other end to becapable ofV free rotation the rope balloons out-` ward and assumes apeculiar curve by reason of its centrifugal force. In the iiier formontothe bobbin.

ing the subject of this application the same principle is utilized, asby rotating or driving one end and allowing-the other end to be capableof free rotation the arms of the flier balloon outward and assume acurve by reason 'of the centrifugal force, thus setting up a tension inthe arms which keeps them in a circle of given radius and forms a flierwhich is absolutely rigid so long as rotation is continued.

In the accompanying drawings, a is the spindle, and b c one or moreflexible arms or lateral springy .wires or cords, each charged orsupplied with sheaves 6, adapted to move somewhat after the manner of aconical pendulum in a circular path around the spindle a. Each arm b istied by a flexible springy arm o, forming a -closed flier. It is obviousthat one arm I) c may be used, or the fiier may be perfectly balanced byhaving twooppositely-xed arms, as shown in the figures. The arms b areattached atr one end `to the projecting arms 9 of a hollow sleeve g,revolving looselyin the bearing3 on a hollow spin.

dle or axis 13, on which latter a` pulley 15 is mounted. The stay cordsor. arms c connect the sheaves 6 With the arms of a tubular sleeve m, towhich latter is fixed a rotary sleeve Z and through which thetraversetube 2 and the spindle a pass. One extremity of the dier is thusloose on the axis 13 and the other extremity is fixed rigidly to thepart m, surrounding the axis a, so thatit can be driven by the pulley h.The tubular sleeve m and the tubular` sleeve g are located at a suitabledistance apart and are each mounted in bearings 3 and 4. on the rails 22and 19. The projecting pieces of the sleeve m,to which the arms c areattached, are made in two halves, one part, 8, fitting on the otherpart, 9, as shown. n

21 is the material being twisted and wound This is introduced throughthe hollow spindle 13 to the hauling-off capstans 10, which are carriedon arms 11 and 12, attached, respectively, to the spindle ct and theparts 8 of the loose end, which, with the other part, 9, forms anAattachment for the arms b. The tube 13 drives the capstans 10 by meansof toothed wheels 14. 15 is the driving-pulley for these capstans. Theyarn IOC is then conducted from the capstans to the sheave 6, from whichit is led to the bobbin on the spindle a.

To enable the material being twisted and wound to pass from the capstansto the bobbin 7 without any danger of slipping off the guide-sheave, Iso arrange said sheave in a plane which is diagonal to the plane of theflier-arms, so as to guide and deliver the material to the bobbin in themost efficient manner. This sheave 6 is really a ring and is as light aspossible--say of hard wood or something very light. The ring-sheave ismounted on a split circular support 16, having a groove 17, in which thering sheave 6 revolves. The supporting piece is made in two halves,which fit onto the ilierarms. These two halves where they fit on theiyerarm are dovetailed together, the part of the flange of one halfbeing rabbeted or spliced into the flange of the otherhalf and thenfastened by clips placed in the groove 1S.

The wire-rope arms b care composed of many individual wires twistedtogether and having high tensional resistance. They are preferably madeof steel wire of the strongest kind, this material being known to havethe greatest tensile resistance possible.

Now when the flier is at rest the arms l) c will be in a position ofcollapse; but if the sleeve m be rotated at high speed the sheaves,(which constitute weight,) by the centrifugal force developed in them bysuch high speed, will spread or ily outward to their extreme limits anddescribe a circular path around the spindle and put a tension on thearms or cords which keep the guide-sheaves revolving in a circle ofunalterable radius, as any tendency to spread farther apart is preventedby the arms or cords. This force is of course arranged to exceed theinward pull of the material 'L' as it is guided onto the bobbin orspindle-that is to say, the centrifugal force of my fiier pullingoutward exceeds the drag of the thread tending to pull the sheavesinward. The vcentrifugal force of the arms plays as important a part informing a rigid iiier as the sheaves 6 do, the arms being made veryflexible. The latter will balloon outward, as shown, and form a rigid,correct, and symmetrical curve that is due to centrifugal force, and Iam thus able by this arrangement to obtain a light flier capable ofrunning at Very high speed without any tendency to distortion, whichwill also run Very freely and with as little friction as is possible tomake it run. The tubular sleeve g runs loose. The sleeve Z, however, towhich the sleeve m is attached,

has a pulley h for receiving a driving-band, by means of which thesheaves 6, with their cords or arms, are rotated at a high speed in acircular path around the spindle a, the tubular sleeve g being turnedaround quite easily by the circular travel of the ropes b c that is tosay, by driving one end 4c of this flier and allowing the opposite 'end5 to be loose and free the combined centrifugal force practically ml.

of the sheave 6 and the arms b c of this flier during rotation creates arigid flier, so that the said loose and free extremity g is pulled`around by means of the action of this aforesaid centrifugal force.

My flier is stiff and rigid when rotating only and collapses and isexible when at rest, and there is no permanent set when the ilierbecomes skewed or twisted, because so soon as it is rotated itscentrifugal force sets it square again. To ll the bobbin 7, alongitudinal reciprocating motion is imparted to the traverse-tube 2, soas to change the relative longitudinal positions of the Hier andspindle.

In present iers a very small portion of the available tensile strengthof the arms of the flier is made use of, and the advantage of thisvaluable factor is neglected, the limit of speed being that speed whenundue expansion of the said legs or arms approaches to a dangerousextent and at which point the tensile strain longitudinally with theirlength is In my balloon flier on account of its construction and formits speed may be increased beyond the same said maximum speed of presentfliers until the tensile strain acting along the flexible wires orequivalents, due principally to the centrifugal force of theguide-sheave and the centrifugal force of said flexible or other Wiresthemselves, shall amount to and be equal to the safe working tensileload which the material composing the flexible or other Wires is capableof sustaining. Hence my balloon [lier being closed at both ends-7l. e.,being what is known as a closed ier--no detrimental expanding effecttakes place, and the limit of speed is not a question of flierexpansion, as in present fliers, but a question of tensile strength ofthe flier-arms. Hence the wires will preferably be composed of materialhaving the greatest tensile strength possiblesuch as, for instance,piano-wire.

Among the advantages secured by the use of this invention may bementioned the following: The advantage of the volume swept by theflexible wires or equivalents of my balloon Hier, which may easily beconsiderably larger than that volume swept either by the present fliersor contained by the ring in ring-spinning, thus enabling a much largerquantity of the twisted material to be held at one time by the spindle,bobbin, or tube previous to dofng. Now the volume swept by the arms orlegs of present-used fliers is considerably restricted by the expansionof these fliers, which are generally closed fliers, and also on accountof their form or shape and construction.

Having thus described my invention, I claim- 1. A flier having flexiblearms which assume when the flier is rotating at a high velocity therigid, correct and symmetrical shape or form that is due to thecentrifugal force generated on such rotation, each of said arms ro- IOOIIO

IIS

taing eoncentrically around a common axis thread and with eapstans atits free end each and provided with a guide for the thread, and armbeing secured at one end to the rotated each arm secured at one end tothe rotated part and freely connected at its other end. part and freelyconnected at its other end. In Witness whereof I have hereunto signed 52. A ier having exible arms which as-y my name, this 23d day ofNovember, 1900, in 15 sume when the flier is rotated at a high vethepresence of tWo subscribing witnesses.

iocity, the rigid, correct and symmetrical l CHARLES STODART MGCONNAN.shape or form that is due to the centrifugal Vitnesses: force generatedby such rotation, each of the G. C. DYMOND,

io said arms being provided with a guide for the JOHN MCLAOHLAN,

